Artist's statement
I had for a while a long statement that attempted to explain who I am and why do I do what I do. It made sense to write it. I had just turned my life upside down: I abandoned my job and professional career to become a photographer as I moved back to my home town after 4 years abroad. I needed to understand and make sense of my life to whistand the vertigo and the trepidation I was experiencing.
Now the vertigo is gone. Its always the same with changes and crisis.
It is not the first time I have left almost everything or totally changed career paths. When asked I often come up with reasonable and satisfying explanations about the reasons why, but I believe its more faithful to reality to accept that there is only a part to be explained and that the rest is a mixture between opportunity, luck and motivation.
On opportunity, luck and motivation: I had an alright childhood but my lack of tools to digest some events and emotions led to a difficult adolescence. Then after I retrieved myself I devoted many years to learn and indeed to help others in healing and understanding. I started medicine and left in the third year, then graduated in social work, then graduated in psychology, and during these years at the same time I studied a 3years masters in Intregrative Counselling and a diploma in Sexual therapy, plus a one year diploma in Humanistic Counselling. For around 4 years I worked mostly within acute mental health units, forensic rehabilitation settings and with individuals with severe psychosocial needs. Throughout the years I began to feel some heaviness, that of all the stored horrors my clients had gone through and would go through. That of my own. Client's memories become somehow your own and there were days were it was difficult to let go. Creating, in whatever form, helped me maintain the balance. When I finished my MSc thesis and as we decided to come back to Spain, I saw my life could take a different path. I did not truly decide to stop being a therapist, I decided to allow myself be a photographer.
And it took everything over.
These days I feel most contained and happy.
If you have any queries, questions, projects you want to share with me, please do email me. I am also open to participate in any kind of project, work, proposal that is interesting. You can contact me at
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either in English, Spanish, French or Italian.
Artistic studies
Intensive course Illumination Techniques: Cinematographic techniques applied to photography - Sep-Dec 2009
MA (Master) in Photography at EFTI (School of Photography and Image technology) - Valedictory of 2008
Workshops and lectures with: Jill Greenberg, Matt Siber, Nancy Davenport, Mauricio Alejo, Eugenio Ampudio, Chris Steele Perkins, Manuel de los Galanes, Jesús Micó, Luis Malibrán, José Ramón Bas, Miguel Oriola, José Luis Santalla, Alfonso Zubiaga, Francis Tsang, Cuico Gutierrez, Valentín Sama, Daniel Canogar.
Solo Exhibitions
2010
Estranged Sex in "My Name is Lolita's Art" (Madrid, Spain)
Estranged Sex in "El Fotomata" (Sevilla, Spain)
Collective Exhibitions
2010
Estranged Sex - The Museum of Sex NY (NY,US)
SevillaFoto (Sevilla, Spain)
MADRIDFOTO - with "My Name's Lolita Art" - Palacio de los Deportes (Madrid, Spain)
Sexo en el Fotomata (Sevilla)
INCOMODOS- Cero Art Gallery (Madrid)- Commissioned by Ciuco Gutierrez
2009
MADRIDFOTO - (IFEMA, Madrid) - with "My Name's Lolita Art"
Festival de Arte "ARTENDENCIAS" - "Espacio El Cubo" (Pozuelo, Madrid) - Commissioned by EFTI
"100x100" Galería Espai [b] - (Barcelona)
"Sin Bragas" - Sala Tarambana - (Carabanchel, Madrid)
"Novísimas" - My Name is Lolita's Art Gallery (Madrid) - Commissioned by Ciuco Gutierrez
Centro Cultural Pablo Ruiz Picasso (Colmenar Viejo, Madrid) - Catalogue published
2008
"Seleccionados de EFTI" - Centro Municipal de las Artes (Alcorcón, Madrid) - Catalogue published
"De tal palo tal astilla" - Sala Tarazona Foto (Tarazona, Zaragoza) - Catalogue published
PHE 08- EFTI for PhotoEspaña 2008
“1 Premio de Fotografia Ciudad de las Palmas de Gran Canaria”- Catalogue published
Work in collections
Museum of Sex NY
EFTI
Awards
June 2010 - Descubrimientos de PHE2010 (Madrid)- PhotoEspaña 2010
2008 - Valedictory of the Masters in Photography at EFTI
Publications
Mondosonoro- October 2010
NY Art Magazine- October 2010
Vision Magazine- China
El mundo- June 2010
Young Photographers United Catalogue 2010
Sensuality Magazine- Art Section: September Issue 2009
Collective catalogue, Alcorcón
Collective catalogue- Tarazona
Collective Catalogue- Ciudad de las Palmas
Other relevant information
2005-2007 - Msc in Therapeutic Counselling at Greenwich University, london, UK
2006-2007 - PgDip in Psychology at UEL East London University, London, UK
2005 - Diploma in Humanistic Counselling at Hackney university College, London, UK
2001-2004 - Graduate in Social Work at UNED (Open University), Madrid, Spain
2003-2004 - Diploma in Sexual Therapy and Couples Counselling at Sexpol, Madrid, Spain
100h Diploma in Gender Studies
100h Diploma in Psychosocial Intervention in Catastrophes and Emergencies
If you would like to make a donation, I would be forever grateful. You may use the following details.
Bic Number: OPEN ES MM
IBAN: ES37 0073 0100 5204 5164 3628
Bank: Openbank
Address: Plaza Gomez Moreno 2, 28020 Madrid
Account Holder: Sandra Torralba
P.S. My sincerest gratitude to Andrea Paci for his support in creating and maintaining this website.
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